I ABSOLUTELY love this post, On Santa and Gifts and The Christmas Spirit that I recently read at www.memoriesoncloverlane.com. I'm finding myself more and more focused on simplifying and getting what matters most out of each and every thing, especially out of approaching Holidays, and this hits home to me! This is what I want to do and how I want to change or mold our holiday family traditions.It's always up to us to make life, and the HOLIDAYS for that matter, simple and meaningful!
(I'm posting some chuncky excerpts, so when our blog book gets printed, so will the highlights, the things that hit me most. And I'm so thankful for talented people like this lady on Clover Lane, who can put words to thoughts so beautifully and elloquently!) So here it goes:
"I think some of what we are bombarded with is ridiculous-we read how stressful this time of year is and then we feel stressed, we read about how the real meaning of Christmas is lost and we panic about the message we are sending, we read that we should be doing this charity work, or this service project and we feel guilty for not adding one more thing to our list, we see others giving elaborate gifts to teachers and the postman, and we feel like we must keep up. No way! Just like everything-what works for my family, and what sits right in my heart, is GOOD! I want to enjoy this time. I want to remember the days of past when Christmas wasn't all about going, going, going, buying, buying, buying, but really about enjoying family time. I think that one day my kids will be gone, out of the house, and Jeff and I will be staring at each other wishing we had wrapping paper hitting us in our faces from all the hoopla going about around us at six in the morning on Christmas Day. I want to soak up and enjoy what I have now-every minute of it."
"Sweet Santa is awesome and we believe forever. That means that if one of my children or grandchildren -or heck anyone- comes to me at anytime for the rest of my life and asks me if there really is a Santa the answer will be yes...and I mean forever. I love the magic, the imagination, the wonder. I love the symbolism and I gosh darn love the fact that someone might be listening for jingle bells at midnight, just like I tried too once-tossing and turning and feeling like I would burst. I want the same for my children. Yes, every child has come home from school and said to me, "But so and so said his mom told him...." And I say something like, "Wow, that's weird, I know Santa is real, I swear I heard jingle bells once and so did Grammy, and once when Dad was little..." And we change the subject and concentrate on what we believe in our house."
"Let's say you are overwhelmed with all the extended family gifts- or just gifts in general- you must buy. Or all the parties you have to attend, or decorations you have to put up or the baking or the errands or the cooking and the cleaning and crafts and lets not forget the cards! We all have choices. Do you want to cut back? Then just quietly and confidently go about making your family's Christmas your own. The world won't blow up. You don't even have to announce the change to the world! Just don't waste years and years complaining about it all and never doing a thing to change it. (I've done that!) Life is too short! If you don't want to change, or can't change something, than change the way you think about it. I have found that I have come to appreciate certain things when I stop being all stressed and freaky about them, and just let all that go.Keep things simple: I try one or two new recipes, maybe one new craft or decorating idea, we do a very simple act of charity (we pick a child from the Angel Tree and of course there are always collections at school), and maybe one fun family activity. I give very simple teacher gifts (Bath and Body Works lotion or soap) and I sometimes make cookies or caramel corn for a few special friends or neighbors. Think of what you like about the season, and how you want the spirit of your home to feel at Christmas-time. That is what your memories of Christmas are really about, aren't they? Then make the changes so that can happen."
"How can you find that balance when everything OUT THERE is unbalanced? Don't go out there too much. Really. I keep my home a little haven away from all that crazy hoopla. My kids are almost never in stores. I shop online and go out without the kids if I have to go out at all. I toss the magazines that come like crazy at this time of year before anyone sees them (except a few for the kids to page through that have more cool stuff and less junk.) The simpler I keep it all, the more I know I bring the real meaning in, and have less chance of missing the moments I want to remember forever. "
-Thank you Sarah on Clover Lane!!!
(I'm posting some chuncky excerpts, so when our blog book gets printed, so will the highlights, the things that hit me most. And I'm so thankful for talented people like this lady on Clover Lane, who can put words to thoughts so beautifully and elloquently!) So here it goes:
"I think some of what we are bombarded with is ridiculous-we read how stressful this time of year is and then we feel stressed, we read about how the real meaning of Christmas is lost and we panic about the message we are sending, we read that we should be doing this charity work, or this service project and we feel guilty for not adding one more thing to our list, we see others giving elaborate gifts to teachers and the postman, and we feel like we must keep up. No way! Just like everything-what works for my family, and what sits right in my heart, is GOOD! I want to enjoy this time. I want to remember the days of past when Christmas wasn't all about going, going, going, buying, buying, buying, but really about enjoying family time. I think that one day my kids will be gone, out of the house, and Jeff and I will be staring at each other wishing we had wrapping paper hitting us in our faces from all the hoopla going about around us at six in the morning on Christmas Day. I want to soak up and enjoy what I have now-every minute of it."
"Sweet Santa is awesome and we believe forever. That means that if one of my children or grandchildren -or heck anyone- comes to me at anytime for the rest of my life and asks me if there really is a Santa the answer will be yes...and I mean forever. I love the magic, the imagination, the wonder. I love the symbolism and I gosh darn love the fact that someone might be listening for jingle bells at midnight, just like I tried too once-tossing and turning and feeling like I would burst. I want the same for my children. Yes, every child has come home from school and said to me, "But so and so said his mom told him...." And I say something like, "Wow, that's weird, I know Santa is real, I swear I heard jingle bells once and so did Grammy, and once when Dad was little..." And we change the subject and concentrate on what we believe in our house."
"Let's say you are overwhelmed with all the extended family gifts- or just gifts in general- you must buy. Or all the parties you have to attend, or decorations you have to put up or the baking or the errands or the cooking and the cleaning and crafts and lets not forget the cards! We all have choices. Do you want to cut back? Then just quietly and confidently go about making your family's Christmas your own. The world won't blow up. You don't even have to announce the change to the world! Just don't waste years and years complaining about it all and never doing a thing to change it. (I've done that!) Life is too short! If you don't want to change, or can't change something, than change the way you think about it. I have found that I have come to appreciate certain things when I stop being all stressed and freaky about them, and just let all that go.Keep things simple: I try one or two new recipes, maybe one new craft or decorating idea, we do a very simple act of charity (we pick a child from the Angel Tree and of course there are always collections at school), and maybe one fun family activity. I give very simple teacher gifts (Bath and Body Works lotion or soap) and I sometimes make cookies or caramel corn for a few special friends or neighbors. Think of what you like about the season, and how you want the spirit of your home to feel at Christmas-time. That is what your memories of Christmas are really about, aren't they? Then make the changes so that can happen."
"How can you find that balance when everything OUT THERE is unbalanced? Don't go out there too much. Really. I keep my home a little haven away from all that crazy hoopla. My kids are almost never in stores. I shop online and go out without the kids if I have to go out at all. I toss the magazines that come like crazy at this time of year before anyone sees them (except a few for the kids to page through that have more cool stuff and less junk.) The simpler I keep it all, the more I know I bring the real meaning in, and have less chance of missing the moments I want to remember forever. "
-Thank you Sarah on Clover Lane!!!
I loved Sarah's post too.
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